Soa
We had the great privilege of attending an engagement ceremony near Ambalavao, Madagascar. It was so interesting, we were invited into the home of the young lady to hear the speech makers, who represented each family, discuss terms. The young man's family presented 4 zebu and some cash and that was agreed upon but then some cash was passed back. I quietly chuckled thinking they had 'change' from the amount offered!! But no, the young lady's family offered back the cost of transportation home as they had travelled to the ceremony. I am a total Miss Manners so I loved this gesture. We then partook of rum (always with the rum) and beer and of all things Fanta! Everyone had one tiny sip of each to seal the deal. We then took the happy couple out for lunch. Soa was so shy she could barely look at us but we could tell how happy she was. Donne, her new fiancé was glowing and grinning from ear to ear.
This photo was taken inside the house in very poor light, but I thought she looked so beautiful I had to try. It is quite cropped too as I was sitting across the room. I love the dust in the air.
The house was a simple 4 room house, 2 up and 2 down, made from rammed earth with wooden shutters across the openings. The ground floor was earth covered in brightly woven rugs made from some kind of fibre. It was very basic but very clean. It was very luxurious in comparison to the houses we saw further south too.
Oh and engagements are different from here in that the bride goes off to live with her man after the engagement. Weddings are very expensive and just a formality as most do not bother to register their marriage.
Soa
We had the great privilege of attending an engagement ceremony near Ambalavao, Madagascar. It was so interesting, we were invited into the home of the young lady to hear the speech makers, who represented each family, discuss terms. The young man's family presented 4 zebu and some cash and that was agreed upon but then some cash was passed back. I quietly chuckled thinking they had 'change' from the amount offered!! But no, the young lady's family offered back the cost of transportation home as they had travelled to the ceremony. I am a total Miss Manners so I loved this gesture. We then partook of rum (always with the rum) and beer and of all things Fanta! Everyone had one tiny sip of each to seal the deal. We then took the happy couple out for lunch. Soa was so shy she could barely look at us but we could tell how happy she was. Donne, her new fiancé was glowing and grinning from ear to ear.
This photo was taken inside the house in very poor light, but I thought she looked so beautiful I had to try. It is quite cropped too as I was sitting across the room. I love the dust in the air.
The house was a simple 4 room house, 2 up and 2 down, made from rammed earth with wooden shutters across the openings. The ground floor was earth covered in brightly woven rugs made from some kind of fibre. It was very basic but very clean. It was very luxurious in comparison to the houses we saw further south too.
Oh and engagements are different from here in that the bride goes off to live with her man after the engagement. Weddings are very expensive and just a formality as most do not bother to register their marriage.